


Dodged a Bullet

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Drama, F/M, Love/Hate, Meddling Boss, Reader-Insert, Romance, Sexual Tension, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:03:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: Seto Kaiba isn't above trying to steal talent from Pegasus. He wants the developer who was able to elevate the games coming out of Industrial Illusions, and he's sure he'll acquire them one way or another.Pegasus is amused by how obvious Kaiba is that he gives Kaiba an opportunity to poach his developer. He has his own motives for helping Kaiba, but Kaiba doesn't need to know that.And you're just a pawn in the middle... at least, that's the assumption that Kaiba is foolish enough to make, but you're used to making yourself heard. You didn't rise to the top in a tech company by letting people walk all over you.Seto Kaiba/Reader





	1. Everyone thinks I dodged a bullet, but I think I shot the gun.

**Author's Note:**

> _Everyone thinks I dodged a bullet, but I think I shot the gun._  
>  -"Dodged a Bullet" by Greg Laswell

The first time Kaiba noticed you, he wondered who had been stupid enough to have you as their date. 

He was at a high-class event, and he was only there because a developer that he wanted to hire away from Industrial Illusions was supposed to be there. So far, every attempt to meet with this developer had turned into a wild goose chase, and as Kaiba spent more and more time chasing the man, he became more determined to have him working for Kaiba Corp. 

He regretted his decision to attend the moment he walked into the event. The event was run by Industrial Illusions, so there were some tacky aspects to it. The garish color scheme hurt to look at. Pegasus never had much class. 

Despite this, Kaiba never expected to see a woman using the decorations as part of her own little art project. 

Kaiba first noticed you as you dismantled the centerpiece at the nearby table. You were sitting alone, and he assumed that your actions were motivated by boredom or perhaps you were also offended by the decorations. He could understand the feeling either way. He never would have come to this event without a purpose. 

Since you weren’t socializing or networking, he assumed that you were an abandoned date. Then you began building something out of the remains of the centerpiece, and he had to wonder why you didn’t just leave. 

He tried to stop paying attention to you. He pulled it off for quite some time, too. Everyone responsible for Industrial Illusions’ new game was present, and that meant that the developer he wanted had to be here. Kaiba had to be discrete in asking about the man‒he didn’t want Pegasus to catch on to him‒but so far, nobody had been able to point him in the right direction. 

While striding across the room toward a target, Kaiba caught sight of your table and realized that you were making a cat out of the centerpiece. It looked like you might have grabbed a few centerpieces from neighboring tables as well. 

He stopped and stared. Why hadn’t anyone thrown you out yet? 

Then he told himself that it wasn’t his event. You weren’t his problem. 

He tried to move on, but… Why was a rainbow coming out of the cat?!

He grit his teeth and looked away from you, determined to avoid looking in your direction again. He was ready to just leave the event. So far, he hadn’t been able to locate the developer. He couldn’t even be sure that the man was present.

He was ready to cut his losses and leave when he turned around and found himself face-to-face with you. You smiled at him. “I hear you’ve been asking about me, Mr. Kaiba.” 

“I haven’t.” He knew that he’d been looking over at you too much. He had tried to be discreet about it, but women would use any excuse to talk to him. 

“Oh?” You tilted your head, and Kaiba thought that the action made you appear childish. In that moment, he wondered if you might be someone’s teenage daughter rather than their date. “You didn’t want to meet the developer in charge at Industrial Illusions? Sorry to waste your time then.” You turned to leave, and his hand shot out to grab your arm. You smiled. 

Kaiba didn’t believe you. “You’re not their head developer.” 

“Because I’m a woman?” You were still smiling, but there was nothing friendly about it. “You are a sexist pig, Mr. Kaiba.” You shook off his arm and walked away.

He let you leave. Your insult annoyed him. You were obviously too young and immature to be a quality developer. The fact that he believed you were lying had nothing to do with your gender.

“Oh, that didn’t go well for you, Kaiba-boy!” 

Kaiba grit his teeth. Yes, it was time to leave. “Pegasus, how many times will I have to tell you to stop calling me that?” He turned to find Pegasus grinning at him, and Kaiba was reminded of how much he hated the man. He would refuse to deal with him if Pegasus weren’t the owner of Duel Monsters. Kaiba Corp’s relationship with Industrial Illusions was  _ necessary _ for all of the Duel Monsters related devices that Kaiba Corp produced. 

“I heard you were asking about my best developer, Kaiba-boy, but it looks like she doesn’t like you very much.” Pegasus didn’t bother hiding his glee. 

For once, Kaiba didn’t have a clever retort. Inwardly, he was cursing himself. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d pissed off a potential employee, but damn it, he wanted that developer. Good developers with her skillset were hard to find. 

Maybe what he heard about her was wrong? Maybe she wasn’t that good? That woman certainly didn’t seem to have the mental capacity for development. 

He didn’t excuse himself as he walked away from Pegasus. Something just didn’t add up. He caught up to you. “Your co-workers all referred to you as a man.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Clearly their so-called humor was lost on you. Mostly they’re being dicks and implying I’m mannish somehow.” 

Kaiba felt unprepared for this situation. You used just your first initial and last name on everything you did, hiding your full name. Everyone referred to you as a man. He didn’t expect the developer to be a woman. He didn’t expect you to be so young either. 

Based on the little he’d seen of your behavior and the way your coworkers disrespected you, he wondered how you managed to lead a team. 

“Did you want something, Mr. Kaiba?” You crossed your arms in front of your chest, and you weren’t even pretending to care about why he was seeking you out anymore. Annoyance radiated off you. 

“I want you to come work for Kaiba Corp.” He had come this far. It would be a waste if he didn’t recruit you. If you were terrible, he could always fire you. 

“No.” 

“I can pay you more than Pegasus. Significantly more.” Kaiba knew this dance. Everyone had a price.

You frowned, wrinkling your nose at him. “I’m not going to move to Japan. I don’t even speak Japanese.”

Kaiba expected this, and while he would prefer to convince you to relocate, he knew that would be a hard sell. “We have an office in America. You can work there. If I need you to come to Japan from time to time, it would be paid for by the company.” You would mostly be working with him on his own project, and he could easily email you and teleconference when needed. 

You toyed with the necklace that you were wearing. “Why me? If you didn’t know enough to know that I’m a woman, why do you feel confident I would be a good fit?” 

“I’ve seen your work. The quality at Industrial Illusions has increased since you were hired. I’ve been informed you are responsible.” He took a business card out of his pocket and handed it over to you. “Call me. We’ll talk about why I want to hire you. Industrial Illusions is holding you back. They deal mostly with games. Kaiba Corp deals with technology as a whole. We’re bigger and better. Your talents are wasted with Pegasus, and you know it.” 

Kaiba didn’t wait for a response. He left you holding his card, confident that you would call him. He could read the interest on your face. 

Now that his mission was complete, he left the event. You would call him, and then it would only be a matter of time before he hired you. He wanted the best for his next project, and based on what he’d seen of your work, you were one of the best. 

After Kaiba walked away without a word, you were tempted to tear his business card up and throw it away. From the short conversation that you had with him, you could tell that the rumors were true. He was arrogant and self-absorbed. 

You didn’t want a boss like him. You wanted the freedom to follow your own ideas. Pegasus gave you that. It was the only reason he’d managed to keep you away from all the other tech companies in the area. 

Then again, Kaiba wouldn’t require you to attend these stupid events. At least, you hoped he wouldn’t. Speaking of that…

You sought out Pegasus. He was talking with some investors, so you stayed near the edge of the group until the conversation ended. 

“Pegasus,” you said, catching his attention. 

He held his arms out. “The star of my show!” You allowed him to pull you into a hug and kiss both of your cheeks, used to his behaviour by now. “You have had quite the eventful night!”

“Tell me about it. Is it okay if I leave now?” You tried not to sound whiny, but really, you never would have shown up to this if Pegasus hadn’t made it mandatory. 

“Well, now that you and Kaiba have had a chance to talk, you may leave, but I wish you’d consider dancing with someone at least!” 

“Excuse me?” How had Pegasus known that Kaiba would ask after you? “Do you realize Seto Kaiba wants me to come work for him?”

Pegasus winked. “Of course! He’s not as subtle as he likes to think.” 

You just stared at Pegasus. He could’ve tipped you off to what Kaiba wanted! “Was that why you made me come tonight?” You narrowed your eyes. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Mr. Crawford?” 

“Now, now. No need to get formal on me.” Pegasus wagged a finger at you. “Seto Kaiba is a persistent man. He’s been trying to speak with you for a while now. If I didn’t give him the opportunity, he’d never go home, and let’s just say, I’m not interested in holding you back.” 

“I’m going home.” Trying to make sense of your boss would just give you a headache. “I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Consider the offer,” Pegasus said as you turned away from him. “Kaiba Corporation might be a good match for you.” 

You decided against responding to his statement, wondering who would be stupid enough to work for such an obvious asshole like Kaiba. On your way out, you tore Seto Kaiba’s card in two and threw it away. 

It didn’t matter. You ran into Kaiba outside, waiting for valet. You kept your eyes down to the ground and tried to shuffle past him without getting his attention, but you failed. He stopped you, wrapping his hand around your upper arm. 

You tried to jerk away. He didn’t release you. “You’re leaving?” His question came out as a demand somehow. A statement that didn’t need to be confirmed. He didn’t wait for a response, either. “Have dinner with me.” 

“No.” You pushed at his hand, trying to get free. “Let me go.” 

His grip tightened, and he stared down at you. You tried to win the staring contest but lost quickly. His glare was intimidating even though you were used to hostile men. Prior to working for Pegasus, you had been in plenty of terrible work environments, but Kaiba was a league of his own. 

If you were honest, he scared you. Men like him felt like they could take what they wanted. It was why you avoided him, especially after you realized that he wanted to recruit you. You were a thing to possess, and that wasn’t what you wanted. 

“Look. I’ll call you tomorrow,” you conceded. 

He released you, nodding to himself as if that were satisfactory. 

You bolted before he could reconsider. Surely he would give up on recruiting you for his company. You just needed to keep avoiding him like the plague. It had been easy before tonight. Tonight had been all Pegasus’ fault. You didn’t think he would meddle a second time. 

Seto Kaiba had been given his one shot to recruit you, and you had found him wanting. Pegasus would understand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? I'm trying to see if there would be interest in this piece?


	2. There's no surrender, and there's no escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first had the idea for this story, I felt like Pegasus was a wonderful match, but after trying to write an entire chapter with Pegasus as a major player, I'm wondering why I did this to myself. 
> 
> Pegasus is hard to write. I hope I did him justice. 
> 
> Meanwhile, thank you all for your lovely responses! I'm hoping that you'll continue to enjoy this story~

“Seto Kaiba tried to hack into our servers.” 

You looked up from your computer to find Pegasus standing in the doorway of your office. “That sounds like something that our network security team should be handling?” 

Pegasus stepped into your office and shut the door. “They were able to detect it. I’m told they believe he was trying to access employee records.” 

“And that sounds like an HR issue.” Now that you’d determined none of this had anything to do with you, you turned back to your computer. Pegasus had interrupted you in the middle of a comment on possible… something. You narrowed your eyes at the screen. What had you been planning on saying?

“You’re ignoring Seto Kaiba, aren’t you?” 

You looked up at the ceiling, wondering why your boss wouldn’t let you do your job. “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything? But if you’re determined to talk about this, can’t we schedule a meeting or something?” You gestured to your computer. “You know the team working on the newest Duel Monsters phone game is in a time crunch to get it done in time for the annual World Tournament this year, and they just submitted a mess to me. I’m going to have to spend half the day sorting this out.”

Pegasus sat down in your guest chair. “If it’s that terrible, just kick it back to them and tell them to improve it before resubmitting it to you.” 

You stared at him for a moment, frustration boiling over and stopping you from being able to speak. Then you raised your hands up in surrender. It wasn’t Pegasus’ fault the team had given you a pile of crap. “Fine, but please stop beating around the bush.” 

“Thank you. I appreciate your time.” 

You glared at him. He might be your boss, but you did not appreciate his sass right now. 

“I believe Seto Kaiba hacked into our systems in an attempt to get your information. Your address and phone number more than likely, but maybe more than that.” Pegasus shrugged. “They tell me they were able to stop him from getting anything, but I know Kaiba is better than my network security team so I’m not sure if they really know the extent of what he did.” 

Pegasus seemed to wait for a response from you. You shook your head. “If you made your point in there somewhere, I missed it.” 

Pegasus leaned forward, putting his elbows down on your desk. “What happened between you and Kaiba?” 

“Nothing. He gave me his number at that event last week. I told him I’d call him to get him to leave me alone. We haven’t spoken since.” 

Pegasus stared at you for a moment. “I’m honestly surprised your computers still work after that.” 

“Excuse me?” You tried to puzzle out what he meant and couldn’t. 

“Seto Kaiba is petty, and he doesn’t deal well with blows to his ego. He must still want you to work for him.” Pegasus leaned back, crossing his legs. He grinned. “Did I ever tell you about the time Kaiba tried to hack my computers, and I gave him a virus?” 

“No! You didn’t!” You leaned forward. This was a story you wanted to hear. 

Pegasus couldn’t contain his glee as his smile stretched from ear to ear. “I did! I did! Years ago, he hacked into my systems during a tournament. I detected him and sent a virtual rabbit his way!” Pegasus clapped. “Oh I would’ve loved to see Kaiba’s face when his computer froze, and he was unable to stop the rabbit hopping around and saying hello over and over!”

That mental image would be one you savored all day long. After your encounter with Kaiba, you found it hard to believe anyone had knocked his ego down a peg, so you were delighted to know your boss had managed it. “But if you were able to stop him then, what makes you think he got into the system today?” 

Pegasus waved his hand as if he were dismissing your words. “I didn’t expect Kaiba to come after us. In this case, we weren’t prepared for him.” He studied you for a moment, suddenly serious. “Seto Kaiba is relentless. He’s the type of man you have to anticipate getting past your defenses. You have to set your traps for after his ego gets the best of him, and he thinks he’s beat you.”

You had just enough time to wonder if Pegasus was telling you this for a reason before he stood up. “Do us both a favor and keep me in the loop regarding Kaiba.” 

You nodded. Satisfied with that response, he excused himself and left you alone with your thoughts. 

Then you noticed that your computer’s screen had gone dark. You groaned, waking the computer up. All thoughts of Kaiba flew out of your head as you refocused on the crap your team had sent over for you to review. 

Later in the day, you were surprised to find an email from Seto Kaiba sitting in your work email. You were curious but too busy to deal with the email at that time. You forwarded the email along to Pegasus since he’d asked you to keep him in the loop and then moved it to your “to deal with eventually” folder. You had a meeting coming up and not enough time to even reply to any of the important emails. Kaiba’s nonsense would have to wait. 

In the meeting, you only made it through ten minutes before wishing that you’d stayed at your desk. The meeting itself was a waste of your time. Part of the time was spent going off on a tangent that made you wonder if you were the only one who actually read your emails, and even when the meeting stayed on topic, the information provided didn’t matter to you. 

You wished that they would send you the topics for these tournament meetings in advance. Yes, your team was developing a tie-in game for the upcoming tournament, but for the most part, you didn’t really need to be at the meetings about it. You didn’t have a say in anything other than the game, and the meetings tended to revolve around safety precautions and sponsor demands. 

Today, you couldn’t make it through the entire meeting. You excused yourself early, walking out as if you had somewhere to be. To be honest, you needed to check on the artwork for the game anyway. They were a week overdue on their deliverable, and your email inquiring about the situation had earned you a response asking for an extension without any explanation. 

With your time not spent in the meeting, you wandered over to the graphics department intent on cornering one of your artists. You stopped at the lead artist’s cubicle first, but it was empty. Great. He was the only one that you had dealt with so far. You checked the time, but lunch had come and gone so he couldn’t be out to lunch. That meant he might be back soon so you checked the names on nearby cubicles, looking for a name that matched up with the other artists on the project. 

The cubicle right across from the lead matched with a Lorraine Sanchez. You recognized the name from the emails regarding artwork and knocked on the side of her cubicle to announce your presence. She turned to look at you before pulling a headphone bud out of one of her ears. “Hi?” 

You smiled and introduced yourself, the artwork on the walls of her cubicle grabbing your attention for a moment. “I was looking for Robert. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is would you?” 

She shook her head. “No clue. Sorry.” She turned and put the bud back in her ear before you could stop her. 

“Um, hello?” You hesitated, not wanting to startle her with a tap on the shoulder. Luckily, she turned back toward you, pulling the earbud out again with a sigh. You understood the feeling. You also hated it when people bothered you while you were trying to work. “Sorry,” you apologized. “I was just wondering if you know what the delay is for the artwork for the mobile tournament game? I noticed your name on the list of artists working on it.” 

“Oh,  _ that _ .” She shook her head. “Pegasus changed some of the artwork on the new cards that are getting released with the tournament, and they’re featured in the game, so now we have to redo some of the artwork.” 

You resisted the urge to make rude comments in front of her. It wasn’t her fault Pegasus had set back everything. “Thanks for your help,” you said. It felt a bit abrupt to just leave after that so you gestured at the artwork on the walls. “I love your pictures by the way. That Harpie Lady is gorgeous.” 

“Thanks!” 

The two of you shared a smile before you left her to go back to her work. You would keep her name in mind for next time you had a question and the lead artist went missing. Mentally, you tried to calculate how much of a setback the new artwork might cause. Right now, there were temporary files in use for programming purposes, but you ran a higher risk of the temporary files accidentally making it into the end product if they were in use for too long. 

You would need to get an estimate from Robert. Mentally, you began to compose the email that you would send him once you made it back to your desk. 

When you opened your office door to find Pegasus sitting in your chair, your first instinct was to throw your notebook at him. You resisted. “Do you actually do anything around here anymore, Mr. Crawford? Or do you just float around keeping the rest of us from getting work done?” 

He chuckled. “You know Seto Kaiba won’t be as benevolent of a boss as I am.” 

“It’s a good thing I don’t want to work with him then.” Pegasus didn’t show any signs of vacating your chair so you sat in the guest spot. “I’m going to have to revise some of the projected milestones for the game. The artwork is falling behind on schedule.” 

“Really?” Pegasus leaned on your desk. “How far behind?” 

“I’m not sure. I went down to talk to Robert about it today, but he wasn’t there. Apparently, they have to redraw some of the new monsters due to the design getting changed recently...” You trailed off without asking the question outright.  

“Ugh, you should have seen some of the original design ideas. They were terrible. I ended up redesigning a few from scratch.” Pegasus shrugged. “I’ll see about adding another artist or two to the team for the game. I need to look into restructuring that department a little anyway. Some of the senior artists are getting too complacent. They haven’t given me anything original in ages!”

You nodded along. None of this concerned you in the slightest. You had just been reporting the current status update to Pegasus. “What was it you came down here for anyway? I’m sure you didn’t read my mind and figure out that I wanted to let you know about the hold up.” 

For some reason, Pegasus found that hilarious. “Ah, no. Not at all. I saw the email that you forwarded me from Kaiba. Have you gone over the details of his offer yet?” 

“I haven’t even had time to open it. He sent an offer? Like a job offer? That man  **is** relentless.” 

“I figured you hadn’t.” Pegasus steepled his fingers, pressing the tips against his mouth. “I’ll be honest with you. He’s offering a twenty percent increase in your salary, and I won’t be able to match that. Additionally, his offer is for the position of Senior Developer.”

Your mouth hung open a little. Twenty percent wasn’t a number to laugh at. That was what you could hope to make maybe five years from now if you stayed with Industrial Illusions. 

“Kaiba Corporation doesn’t just work with games. They develop technology. You would have more variety to work on over there.” 

You narrowed your eyes at Pegasus’ pro-Kaiba Corp. pitch. “Should I feel offended that you seem to want me to leave your company, Pegasus?”

“Not at all. I just think Kaiba Corporation might be better for you in the long term, and I want nothing more than to see your talent grow.”

This conversation was getting old. “I have no interest in moving to Japan. From what I’ve heard about their American offices, there’s not much room to move up in the company if you’re located out here. The American offices also get stuck with boring work. Mostly they just handle any changes needed to a product for an American release. I can’t imagine that would be exciting.” You took a deep breath. “And then there’s the fact that Seto Kaiba seems like a huge pain in the ass to work with. There’s nothing for me there.” 

Pegasus frowned. “I can’t disagree about Kaiba being a pain, but I don’t think you need to worry about any of that other stuff.” Pegasus stood. “Seto Kaiba went back to Japan already, but I took the liberty of setting up a meeting for you with his VP. I think you should talk with him about the job before you just turn it down. He’ll be by tomorrow to see you. All the details are in your email.” 

“Wait.” You let the words sink in, and no matter how many times you replayed them, they still didn’t make sense. “You set up a job interview for me with another company?” 

Pegasus hovered by your office door. “Think of it as a meeting with a partner company.” His hand stayed on the handle of your door, but he didn’t open it. “Kaiba Corporation and Industrial Illusions have a very close working relationship. Kaiba Corp. develops a lot of the technology that keeps Duel Monsters fresh. It’s in both of our interests for you to meet with his VP. Just trust me on this.” 

“You’re selling me to the devil!” you accused. 

Pegasus laughed. “That’s a great idea. Maybe I should see if I can take your twenty percent as a finder’s fee?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Ugh. Just go and let me get back to work already!” You moved back to your own seat now that Pegasus had vacated it. What had you done to deserve so many interruptions to your day? 

When you unlocked your computer, you checked your email for the meeting request. It indicated that Mokuba Kaiba, VP of Kaiba Corp, would be joining you in your office tomorrow. You added the meeting to your calendar and then set a reminder to review Kaiba’s email prior to the meeting. 

Then you composed an email politely telling the art team to give you an ETA on their deliverables. Just for good measure, you CC’ed Pegasus on the email. 

The next day, Pegasus escorted Mokuba Kaiba to your office. The entire thing kept your suspicious brain working overtime wondering just what your boss was up to. You didn’t doubt that Pegasus would encourage you to pursue your dreams, even if it took you to a different company, but he seemed convinced that you needed to work for Seto Kaiba, and that made you wary. 

When Pegasus opened your office door, you realized that you were not prepared for this. 

Mokuba Kaiba towered over you as you reached forward to shake his hand, but given his brother’s height, that didn’t surprise you. No, it was the smile that caught you off guard. While Seto Kaiba had a smirk that said he was better than you, Mokuba Kaiba had a grin that said the two of you should get to know each other better. It disarmed you. 

You realized that Mokuba had introduced himself and was waiting on you so you hurried to introduce yourself as well.

He released your hand before turning back to Pegasus. He said something you didn’t understand, presumably in Japanese. Pegasus’ smile froze on his face. “Well if that’s the way you feel about it, I’ll be off!” Then Pegasus turned his attention to you. “I presume you can escort Mr. Kaiba out of building when the meeting is over?”

You nodded, wondering what Mokuba had said to Pegasus. “Sure.” 

Pegasus left your office, closing the door behind him. 

“Please sit,” you said to Mokuba, gesturing to your guest seat. You sat down in your own chair, unsure what to say next. 

Mokuba studied you for a moment, comfortable in the silence. “So you’re going to be our new developer.” 

“No.” Arrogance must be a Kaiba trait. “I won’t be working for Kaiba Corp.”  

Mokuba scoffed. “It’s cute that you think that, but just so you know, my brother already blackballed you at every other tech company. He always gets what he wants. You might as well start negotiating your contract terms before it’s too late.”

The matter-of-fact way he said all of that unnerved you. “That might work if I needed a job, but I currently have a job that I’m happy with.”   

“Here?” Mokuba shook his head. “Don’t expect Pegasus to protect you. We’re developing technology that he’s interested in. Besides, he owes my brother and I. If you decide that you won’t accept employment at Kaiba Corp, then the next step is for us to approach Pegasus.” 

You wanted to protest and tell Mokuba that wasn’t true. Pegasus wouldn’t sell you out. 

But then things clicked into place. Pegasus’ words warning you that the only way to beat Seto Kaiba was to let him believe that he’d won. Somehow, he had known that Kaiba would back you into a corner if you fought him. Pegasus had given you information, but that meant he probably wouldn’t be coming to your rescue if you needed him.

You let the silence hang for a little longer. How could you do this without raising suspicion? 

“I have no interest in a dead end job in your American offices, and I won’t move to Japan.” 

Mokuba shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. You’ll be working with my brother directly. He would expect you to travel to Domino occasionally for work, but otherwise, you can stay here, assuming you’re willing to work around his schedule for conference calls.” 

“Right. That’ll be easy. There’s only, what, a ten hour difference between California and Japan?” 

“Sixteen, but I don’t think it will be a problem. My brother is a bit of a night owl. He’ll probably take advantage of the time zone difference to schedule his calls with you during the middle of the night when nobody else in Japan is awake.” His tone let you know that this was a sore point between the two of them. 

You could appreciate a workaholic. Your current boss could stand to do more work around here rather than wasting time meddling in your life. “Then would it be safe to assume I’d be allowed to work from home rather than working at the American branch?”  

“That’s something you would have to work out with Seto. I don’t think he’d care where you work as long as you’re productive.” 

That was an unexpected benefit, but if you wouldn’t be working with people directly… “What is this project that your brother wants me working on?” 

Mokuba frowned. “I can tell you it’s related to advancing our virtual reality technology, but until you sign an NDA, that’s all I can say.” 

“I don’t have the skills for that.” You floundered, words escaping you for a moment. This whole ordeal had been for nothing. “I’ve never worked with VR technology. To be honest, I know very little about it.” 

“We’re not hiring you to help design the technology. My brother has that covered.” He leaned forward. “Seto needs someone who can keep the teams working on it organized. He needs someone who pays attention to details and can help catch problems while they’re still small. You’ll be able to understand the technology even if you don’t know enough to help move it forward. Your job will be to keep tabs on all the teams involved in the project. This is going to be a huge scale production, and my brother doesn’t have the time to ensure things are running smoothly with each part of it.” Mokuba paused. “He needs the best developer to help him run this project.” 

Mokuba’s words made you drool. He made it sound like you were going to be given some major power. VR didn’t appeal to you, but you knew enough to realize that the technology that would be involved had to be top of the line. The type of technology that you would love to get your hands on. 

Pegasus had been right, but you would still curse him until the day he died for letting you get drawn into this. “If this doesn’t work out, I demand a stellar recommendation from your brother.” 

Mokuba laughed. “I think the fact that he spent time blackballing you is a recommendation on its own.” 

“That wasn’t a yes.” 

“You won’t get a yes to that demand.” Mokuba lifted up his briefcase and set it on his lap. He opened it and pulled out a folder. “That’s a copy of your contract. Look it over and call me with any changes that you want to make. Seto had to go back to Japan, so I’ll be handling this for him.” He put the folder down on your desk and the pulled out a business card. “Here’s my number.” He shut his briefcase and stood. “It was a pleasure talking to you.” 

You snorted. “You’re going to leave? Just like that?” 

“My job here is done.” He smirked, and you realized that he knew just how attractive he was. “I look forward to hearing from you soon. I’ll only be in town for a few more days.” 

Then he left you alone with the folder sitting on your desk. You pulled the folder over and opened it. Then you shut it again. You had a friend who was a lawyer. This wasn’t her specialty, but she would look it over for free. You pulled your phone out and sent her a quick text inviting her over for dinner. 

“Crap!” You pressed your palm against your forehead. Pegasus had asked you to escort Mokuba out! He wouldn’t be happy that you had let Mokuba go off alone. 

You stood, intending to chase after Mokuba. Then you remembered that Pegasus had tossed you to the wolves. 

You sat back down and sent a second text to your friend, letting her know that you were going to be opening a bottle of wine with dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone thinks that Mokuba Kaiba dealing with the reader isn't a calculated move... then I'm sorry for failing to portray Mokuba properly in this chapter. D: (Also, omg, I don't think I've ever really gone this way with Mokuba before. It's going to be fun. ;D )


End file.
